A recent Wall Street Journal article, McDonald’s Tackles Service Woes, describes McDonald’s continued economic and customer service challenges. “McDonalds Corp., battling back from recent earnings disappointments, is putting unusual emphasis on a long-time challenge: getting it’s far flung workforce to provide service with a smile.” Excerpts from a leadership webcast to franchise owners warned that “1:5 » Read More
Joe (not his real name) began the team meeting by covering the team’s scorecard and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). ”Great work on your sales KPIs, we’re in the top-tier across the board. We are so close to beating Sharon’s district. If everyone just sold one more today, I think we can do it! Also, we seem » Read More
You’ve served up regular recognition cocktails of programs, plaques, bonuses, and fun. In fact, you would consider a few of your creative recognition programs to be “best practices.” Perhaps you’ve even written a blog post or two about them. You’ve spent lots of money… you’ve put in heartfelt effort. And then… the employee survey results come » Read More
“Let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.” Muriel Rukeyser How you begin matters. Prepare the team. Reinforce the vision. Energize the plans. Refresh the excitement. Do you begin well? A Sweet Story of Beginning Well This Sunday, I watched » Read More
How do you open your leadership heart? Where is your quiet place to reflect and grow? Do you have a reflective practice that you do every day? Yoga as a Heart Opener In yoga there are a series of postures called “heart openers,” targeted at strengthening the fourth chakra. “The Sanskrit name for the 4th » Read More
You know volunteering is good for the community. But can volunteering make you a better leader? Lots of leaders volunteer. According to the Department of Labor Statistics, more than a quarter of the American population volunteers, and employed people volunteer more frequently than the unemployed. Many corporations actively support volunteering; 48 of the 100 companies recognized in » Read More
What Does Your Mommy Do? I have never had one of those jobs they sing about on Sesame Street. As with most of us, the roles I have assumed over the years are hard to explain. But if you ask my kids what I do, they have a short answer, “my mom is a leader.” » Read More
Someone gets recognized with the best of intentions… and the eyes start to roll. Or, the audience begins to clap very slowly with plastered-on smiles. Or…a quiet murmur comes over the crowd.. and the text messages start to flow. Sometimes recognition backfires. On the other hand, we’ve all witnessed the exuberant celebration when a name » Read More
The new year brings great opportunities for resolutions, goals, commitments and planning. Some great thought leaders have been sharing insights and inspiration on how to approach this important time. John Bossong inspires us to “create a new finish line,” “Create a new finish line. That’s what you can do in the New Year. Who cares » Read More
I am often approached by employees asking what I look for in future leaders in my organization. I’ve got great results… but ….”how can I get promoted?” Over the years, I have shared a long and growing list… Demonstrate… unwavering integrity confident humility passionate vision teamwork down, up, and sideways energetic creativity change leadership zealousness » Read More
